A girl stood outside the brightly lit café, fidgeting slightly as she toyed with a sachet of freshly baked chocolates. She was flanked by two companions, one with hip length orange hair and the other with curly brown hair, the three of them huddling closely under the shine of a nearby lamppost.

"A-Are you sure?" The platinum-blonde girl hesitatingly asked, twirling around and inspecting her newly acquired outfit. A trendy sapphire blue skater dress, chic grey cardigan, and black wool scarf. Her usual loafers were now replaced with mid-calf high-heeled boots with matching black stockings.

"Reeeelax!" Futaba gave her a reassuring pat on her back as she dragged out her encouragement. "We spent all day shopping for these clothes, I'm sure Akira will like it!" Beaming at the masterpiece she and Haru had created, confident that she had at least learned a tip or two from those fashion magazines that they had used to tease the gorgeous Panther.

Haru could only listlessly laugh as she tiredly massaged her own sore shoulders. The girls had originally planned a simple outfit shopping session for the girl's Valentine's Day date tonight, but they had instead lost themselves to their excitement when they realised that their subject looked absolutely perfect in nearly any outfit they chose.

Futaba felt a sudden chill run up her spine when she recalled the crazed expression on Haru's face. The poor subject had taken her first step out of the changing room in an entirely brand new attire and all hell broke loose. She hurriedly pushed the memory into the back of her mind to prevent further trauma.

"I'm sure Akira will be happy to receive chocolates from you." Haru broke out of her muse and patted the girl's head encouragingly, which now donned a hairpin with a traditional butterfly motif instead of her usual headbands.

"Make sure he falls for you all over again." Futaba grinned while cheering happily, before whipping out her phone and fiddling with it. Haru chuckled as she quietly watched over the petite girl quietly contemplating as she tightened her clutch on her gift.

"Yosh!"Futaba cheered and stuffed her mobile back into her pockets. "Let's go!" Immediately barging into the café without waiting for her party's confirmation. Unprepared for Futaba's usual antics, Lavenza instinctively chased after her towards the café, but her legs immediately froze up right outside the door when she remembered that 'he' would be inside the café.

But before she even had the chance to hesitate even further, the caretaker of the group provided a reassuring pat on her back. Haru smiled radiantly as she gathered some of her strength and gave the girl a necessary nudge forward, as though promising her that everything will be fine.

Lavenza took a deep breath and bravely entered the warm café, locking eyes with the man of her destiny.

The café basked in a warm silence as the television droned on as it broadcasted repeated news articles that Akira did not really care about, sighing as he washed the remaining dishes that were used by the last customers. While he was extremely grateful that he was finally out of that hellhole, he certainly did not expect himself to be working while serving customers (couples) during Valentine's Day. He felt like crying.

"Oh right, today's Valentine's Day. No wonder there were so many guys bringing girls in here." Sojiro suddenly thought out aloud as though he had received some sort of divine revelation. Akira could almost barely control himself from rolling his eyes at that extremely late observation.

"Don't you have anything exciting happening? I mean, you've been here nearly a whole year." The boss of the café 'innocently' asked his only employee by the sink, with a cheeky grin that was out of sight to the lonely teen. Akira swore he could ALMOST feel the sarcasm from the older guy.

Must be my imagination. He snorted in response, deciding to not give the old guy any more ammunition to tease him with at this point. He was confident that Sojiro had some inkling about his relationship dynamics within the group especially due to his close proximity to its members.

"Y'know, when I was young, hoo boy…" Sojiro decidedly went on boasting about his colourful teenage love life. Akira gagged a little by the sink, dying a little inside when he could not remove the mental image of girls fawning all over this crude and grumpy guy, who was probably even worse when he was in his hormonal teenage years.

A slight vibration from his pocket led him to take out his phone while ignoring the blabbering older guy.

FUTABA: "Door."

Was the entirety of the message displayed on Akira's relatively new smartphone. What? Akira thought as he heard the doorbell chiming through the café, effectively grinding Sojiro's cringe-worthy ramble to a well-timed halt.

"YO!" Futaba leaped through the entrance and came to sliding stop in the middle of the café, grandiosely posing as one of the Phoenix Ranger Featherman R figures that Akira could recognise from her room. "Still working?" She asked, swinging down and pointing her index finger at Akira who was facepalming back in the kitchen.

"You didn't even bring me anything…" Sojiro grumbled disappointedly, but before he could further misunderstand and complicate things even further, Futaba interrupted him.

"Yours is at home! Let's go!" She immediately kidnapped a struggling Morgana and went around the counter to grab a confused Sojiro, dragging him out of the café much to his bewilderment.

Futaba glanced at Akira with a Cheshire grin plastered on her face, giving him a wink that stank of mischief before she disappeared out of the door. Akira stared dumbfounded at the entire fiasco, confused at what was happening as well. Even before he could recover, the next person that entered completely took his breath away.

The beauty entered the café, with the cold night wind lightly rustling her hair and hem of the dress as she strolled in. The streetlights that shone behind her illuminated her silhouette, making Akira think for a moment that an angel had arrived. He immediately neatened his attire and approached the demure girl that was smiling at him with her arms behind her back.

"I'm back." The girl greeted, slightly twirling her body around while looking up at him. Akira smiled as he knew exactly what she wanted to hear at this moment if his habit of trying to read Justine's usually hidden expressions was of any help.

"Welcome back." Akira stooped down a little and patted her head. The girl simply purred softly under his warm hands as she accepted his compliments.

"You look great with the new dress. It suits you." He praised her while admiring Futaba's and Haru's handiwork. They sure went all-out. He chuckled to himself, wondering how many shops they must have gone through to even coordinate her outfit.

He would get the full story from Futaba, but that was for tomorrow.

"Thanks for waiting." Akira placed a cup of fresh brew in front of his date before joining her at the booth, sitting directly across her. She wrapped her hands around the warm cup while relishing in the warmth that coursed through her fingers.

"I'm surprised though," Akira added. The girl slightly tilted her head sideways while wondering what he was talking about.

"Did Haru tell you about today?" Akira half-questioned and half-guessed. While he had provided a detailed explanation to her about the major festivities that were celebrated in Japan, he decided to skim through the holidays that he assumed to be 'not-so-important'.

Akira had simply assumed back then that there was no way he would feel like celebrating nor enjoy an event like Valentine's WHILE stuck inside juvie. So there wasn't a point to explain too much about it.

"Yes. Futaba whispered something to Haru-Onee-sama after we arrived at… Shibuya?" She momentarily paused, trying to recall the name of the place she was brought to.

ONEE-SAMA? It took all of Akira's mental fortitude to not retort at Lavenza's weird method of address to her chaperone. He was almost certain that Haru had laid this sneaky trap to surprise him tonight and was waiting in anticipation for his reaction. Her playful tendencies always surfaced at the weirdest moments.

"Anyway." She coughed into her hands in order to wave off the awkwardness. "The two of them became noticeably… excited right after that and explained today in detail." Akira smiled as he noticed a slight smile creeping onto Lavenza's face as she recalled the events.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Akira took a sip of his own coffee while expressing his delight that she seemed to be acclimating well to her new environment.

"Mmn!" She hummed in delight as she got out of her seat and went around to Akira's side, causing him to raise his eyebrows.

"This is my first time making this… But I will be happy if you will accept this!" To Akira's surprise, Lavenza had bowed down slightly while offering a blue heart-shaped box with both hands. A warm feeling filled his heart as he appreciated every bit of effort and energy that she had put into for today, just for him.

"I will gladly accept this." Akira politely took the gift from her hands and placed it on the table. Overjoyed at his acceptance of her gift, she straightened back up and beamed happily at him. To her surprise, Akira had a surprise ready in order to show his gratitude for her gift.

"Kya!" Lavenza made a soft cry when Akira confidently pulled her onto the seat beside him, where she was then engulfed in a comforting hug from him. She lightly struggled and pounded at his back due to her surprise, but soon melted into his warmth as she relished in the sense of comfort it brought to her heart and soul.

"Thank you." Akira whispered into her ears as closely as possible, secretly enjoying it when he felt the girl shuddering under his teasing. He could see her ears burning red as she tightened her own hug on him, pressing her face deeper into his shoulders to hide her shyness.

Her heart was racing madly.

She could feel herself blushing madly.

Spending time with her favourite trickster had always given her an excitement she never thought she could ever experience.

Every word that he spoke was music to her ears.

Every touch that he left behind made her feel like she was melting.

And all she ever want to do was to gaze into his mesmerising obsidian eyes forever, or as long as she possibly could.

But deep down, she reminded herself again that she must not let herself get distracted by his warmth right now. Admonishing herself that there would be enough time to relax (read as cuddle) later. There was something she had resolved to tell him, and now was a perfect chance to do so.

Gently breaking out of Akira's hug, she composed herself and looked into his eyes intently.

"I-" She started. "I would like to speak to you about something." As though sensing her intents, Akira quickly corrected his posture and faced her seriously.

"When I left the Velvet Room and came to this world, my only desire then was to be by your side." She began, taking Akira's silence as consent to proceed.

"It did not matter to me if you had ignored my existence entirely, nor if you later decided that I was a burden to you and only to cast me away. For this was a life that you had saved and thus, I am willing to offer the entirety of it to you." She gripped her new dress at its hem tightly as she felt her emotions beginning to stir.

"Nothing else mattered to me as long as I could stay with you. That was what I had decided." She drooped her head down slightly, breaking eye contact as she felt tears welling up for reasons she could not comprehend.

"A-and yet…" She trailed off, recalling her day in Shibuya with the girls.

The shopping trip was an eye-opener of her in many senses. Be it whether it was about her exposure to the physical world that she had always yearned for or the lessons taught to her by Akira, but there was one thing that caught her attention.

And that was how other couples behaved in this world. His world.

The casualness in their tone. The physical closeness. And the intimate acts of affection.

Whatever they had between them had been clearly lacking. For whatever reasons.

She felt a slight pang in her heart as she craved for his affection.

"Now… now I find myself selfishly wanting for more!" She confessed, trembling slightly as she faced a side of herself that she never knew existed. "Your touch, your gaze, your hugs. All of it…" Her face contorting in pain as the thought of losing everything roused a dark emotion within her, that tugged at her in all directions.

Akira was about to reach out to her, but she intercepted his hands and tightened her own grip on his, as though afraid to let go.

But as she stood amongst the crowd, she realised in trepidation about how alone she was in this world even though she was surrounded by people.

The mere thought of the life that she could possibly lose if she was to be separated from him.

Igor had warned her about the brightness of the human's world. But she had not realised that the darkness it cast would be so devastating, unlike her past life where she was safe within the confines of the Velvet Room.

How much she was missing the comfort and security that he brought her.

An innate hunger inside her craved for him more every passing day.

She knew that he held back in consideration for her, for everything he did was out of consideration for her.

It reminded her of the kind soul that she had met back in April, and still is now.

But she was no longer content with that.

"Just simply staying with you… is no longer enough!" Her voice hitched as her emotions peaked, revealing her inner thoughts bare. "I-I want to be standing beside you! As equals! Or lovers! Or maybe... maybe, as something even more! Till the very end..." She weakly begged as her wild emotions had drained her strength much more than she had expected.

The seconds of silence felt like years to her. Her heartbeats were so loud it was almost deafening.

"I'll always be with you…" Hearing her love responding as such brought her great relief after divulging her deepest desires. Only to find herself being pulled into a tight embrace as the two bodies trembled against each other, as though they were reacting to each other's emotions. She stiffened up in surprise as she stared into his eyes, a pair of dark orbs that had a burning passion that she had not seen before.

"I love you, Lavenza." He confessed, causing her to gawk while he quickly reduced the distance between them to zero.

The warmth that she felt on her lips brought her to tears again.

Happiness tasted like coffee.

Akira heaved a sigh of relief as he finished cleaning the café. It was a short while ago when he had realised that Sojiro had actually hightailed out of the café and left all the cleaning to him. Sneaky old man. Akira jokingly insulted his Boss even though it actually was his daughter's fault.

Tonight had certainly taken him on an emotional roller-coaster even though it had been so stagnant in the day. He certainly did not see this coming.

Lavenza's earlier confession had completely caught him by surprise. But if he had to admit, he was rather glad that she was finally being more honest about her emotions then compared to a few months ago.

While he had a fair understanding of a romantic relationship, he did not really know if his counterpart shared the same knowledge.

Not wanting to violate her personal comfort zones, he had slowly increased his physical skinship with her over time, but there was still a line he could not cross if she only comprehended their relationship on a platonic level.

But now they had finally addressed the elephant in the room.

Akira quickly roused himself out of his thoughts and went to the back of the café to turn off the lights when he was done. After calming Lavenza down, he had sent her upstairs to wash up first so that she could enjoy a long, hot bath to calm her nerves, while he had to clean up the café. He had promised to join her upstairs as soon as he was done.

That was his excuse.

He leaned on the back door and quietly sighed to himself.

"So?" He directed his question to the darkness calmly. Only to feel someone leaning on the door from the opposite side.

"So, what?" A feminine voice replied. Akira furrowed his eyebrows as he massaged his forehead, he could hear the girl trying to hide her giggle from him.

"Ha-" Deciding that he was exhausted enough today, he decided to call her out on her mischief.

"I was serious." The voice now as cold as steel, interrupting him and stunning him momentarily. "Who knows? I might be willing to share. Good night, Akira." She bode him farewell and left before he could stop her.

Akira sighed, deciding to put the issue on the back burner.

Everything else can be left until tomorrow.

Tonight was for Lavenza.

A/N: I'm back? (nervous)

University actually started right after I posted the last chapter and I finally wrote after 2 trimesters.

Got totally rekt last trimester. *Sobs*

Anyway, I'm thankful for everyone that is here/still here with me to enjoy a story about this pairing that I had started to write nearly a year ago. While I may not be the best writer out there, I will still try my best to deliver a solid story if possible.

Maybe it was due to reading a lot of drama/hurt stories recently that I tried to write this chapter trying to emulate some sort of drama for Lavenza's Valentine's event.

Well, mostly due to the fact that I felt that the canon valentines' events were actually quite good, but personally too much sugar for my own tastes.

Do R&R this chapter as I have written this chapter across the pockets of time I had, so the format and style may not be consistent as I think it should be.